The Exhausted.

This week belonged to work. If I was home, I was working. If I was at work, I was busting my ass. It felt like every waking hour belonged to work. There wasn’t much of the downtime I normally enjoy. Yes, I had a few moments scattered here and there that weren’t simply another form of work, but they were scarce.

I was up at the ass crack of dawn on Saturday morning. The neighborhood was dead quiet except for the morning birds. The air still had that cool morning feel before Texas remembered it was August. Coffee in hand, I watered the plants. I realize that in last week’s blog I talked about all the mornings I was up, and I promise not to regurgitate the same mundane bullshit, but Saturday morning was extra special because just a week earlier I had been sleeping in like a bum. Not anymore. Although, I was sort of wondering why the hell I was up so early when I could have been sleeping in.

Later on, Lola and her boyfriend arrived just minutes after seven o’clock, once again looking a little startled that I was already awake. They came for Alaya. They came to abduct the baby! I was in the middle of making breakfast, and they kept talking about how hungry they were.

I offered nothing. There was only enough food for Yvette and I.

I know I pissed them off, and I really don’t care. I was using the leftover potatoes and leftover chorizo. I’m sorry you showed up so damn early to take the little girl away from us, but we weren’t expecting you for breakfast. Get over it.

After they went on their way, I ran some errands in Yvette’s car before she headed off to get her nails done. It wasn’t as pretty as last week’s rainy-day errands, but I made my way to the hardware store, the water depot, and H-E-B to pick up some lunch for later. My main goal for the day was to clean up the backyard after the heavy rain we had a few weeks back. I had some bagging to do.

What I wasn’t aware of was just how many fucking bags I was going to need. Jesus, I created way more work for myself than I should have. I just kept expanding the scope of my project until it became a complete fucking bitch. I’d been mulching leaves for years, and I finally decided to clean them all up. Those bags were a fucking challenge.

I also watered the front yard, fixed the fence, and pulled weeds on my hands and knees. It was a productive day in the yard. I had even more plans laid out for Sunday.

Teegan and I were talking in the kitchen when Yvette called on her way home, so I fired up the grill and started lunch. Chicken sandwiches on Hawaiian buns. Delicious.

I took a shower, and then it was time to get that pesky battery replaced. I tried to jump it with my little jumper pack, but it was far beyond that. I had to hook it up to Yvette’s car just to get any life back. The poor thing was literally dead to the world—but not for long.

While we waited for the battery to be installed, we ran even more errands. It was nice just doing things with my wife while we were out and about. Nothing exciting. Just running errands together. Funny how that becomes something you appreciate. We always have a good time together. I know we’ll be doing this sort of thing for the rest of our lives, especially once our household starts getting smaller. Sad days.

Back at my car, it was alive and kicking like a wild donkey. Finally, both my car and I were operating at one hundred percent again. It was nice to have a reliable vehicle once more.

I remember the days when you could just buy a new car battery and change it yourself at your own leisure. It was never much of a hassle. Somewhere along the way, changing a battery became a mechanic’s job instead of everyone’s job. Gone are those days for most of us, with batteries tucked away in impossible locations and requiring tools most of us don’t possess. Damn engineers. I hate having to find someone else to change my fucking battery, and I now vow to always check where the battery is located before buying another vehicle.

The rest of the day bled into the evening. Nothing much of note happened. Storms hovered on the horizon, but they stayed isolated and missed us entirely. It turned into a nice, peaceful evening. It was quiet.

I was already missing Alaya.

Sunday I made myself sleep in, which meant I was up by 8 o’clock cooking chicken and waffles.

That evening, per Teegan’s request, we were having baby back pork ribs, so I made an early run to the store so I could start marinating them. I was only doing a dry rub, but I wanted the ribs to sit for at least five hours before I even began cooking them. I was shooting for 3 o’clock and planning to cook them for three and a half hours.

My God, my blood sugar skyrocketed after breakfast. I even used keto-friendly ingredients, and I still didn’t stand a chance. I was beeping and over 400. How far over 400? I don’t have the slightest idea because that’s where my Dexcom device tops out. Either way, I was in bad shape, and I didn’t feel great. The joys of being a diabetic. Fuck.

Rather than just being lethargic, I decided on a plan of action. Like I mentioned, I had things in the yard that needed to be done. I attacked them in hopes that the activity would lower my blood sugar. To reinforce that, I took some insulin.

Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!!

I was waiting on a friend to bring over a wheelbarrow and a shovel so I could tackle the main task. In the meantime, I decided to trim the hedges. They were looking a little unruly. I should have waited for Yvette before my high-blood-sugar diabetic ass climbed a ladder, but I didn’t. I completed the task and was fairly satisfied.

Next, it was time to mix up a little more herbicide to spray the remaining clover. The bastards simply refused to die. I’d been fighting them for years, but for the first time it felt like I was finally winning the war. Although, they had choked out a good-sized portion of my beloved St. Augustine.

My friend Samuel came over to drop off the tools, and after a nice conversation, I got to work. My task was moving dirt. I had some erosion issues. I needed to move the dirt that had washed up against my fence to fill the ruts the rain had carved through my yard. Little floodplains, really. It was hot, and every wheelbarrow load felt heavier than the one before it. An added bonus was that this chore would also relieve some of the pressure against my fence, which had too much weight pushing on it. I also uncovered a few sprinkler heads that I didn’t even know existed. Yikes… how many more were buried under the dirt? In the end, I found five.

After two hours, I decided it was too hot, so I called it quits until next time. I knew what I’d be doing next weekend.

I cleaned up and cooled down. It was after 3 o’clock, so I put the ribs in the oven. Then I headed out on my usual Sunday shopping run. Oh, what a joyous routine. H-E-B, Walmart, and whatever else happened to be in between. I stopped by my mother’s house and visited for a little while, and that was that. By the time I got home, two and a half hours had passed, and the ribs were almost done.

Dinner was a success, and after the day I’d had, those ribs tasted even better.

I was finally caught up with Teegan on House of the Dragon, so we sat down together and watched the final two episodes. This would be the last show we’d watch together before he left for college. It was a rather emotional evening for me. We both enjoyed the episodes immensely. I was happy the finale aired just before he left. It was a fantastic show, and I’m so glad he talked me into watching it.

Now we both wait until 2028 for the final season. Hopefully we’ll be able to watch that one together, too.

Monday I hit the ground running. I woke up just after six, like I have been doing for the last week or so, and took my shower. I proceeded with my new routine of watering the plants, drinking my coffee, and listening to the morning birds and my hawk friends. I was a little saddened that I didn’t hear them at the usual hour. Maybe they woke up early. Anyway, after that I prepared breakfast for Yvette and me: baked sweet potato with spicy honey, cinnamon granola, vanilla Greek yogurt, blueberries, and strawberries. A fantastic breakfast, if I do say so myself.

It was the calm before the weekly hurricane. I was dreading going into work.

This was the week before they opened the dorms for move-in, and it’s when everyone suddenly needs something to complete projects that had been sitting open since late May, when the students initially moved out for the summer. It happens every fucking year. Every summer people convince themselves they have plenty of time. Then August arrives, everyone realizes what they didn’t finish, and suddenly it’s an emergency. Their emergency becomes the buyer’s emergency, which means it becomes my emergency.

So yeah, I couldn’t wait.

I knew I would have to break hearts and explain reality to certain people who think everything is always available. People would be upset with me, but I didn’t care. If you slack off, that falls on you. I’ll do what I can to help, but only what’s within my power.

So yes, work was about as busy as it gets for the man who’s constantly out and about around town. I had so many stops that I honestly lost track of where I’d been. Home Depot, Lowe’s, and two handfuls of local supply houses. I don’t think that is even really touching on all the stops.

I honestly didn’t mind. It also allowed me to knock out a couple of personal errands while I was out on the town. I needed some bolts, a garden hoe, and to drop something off at the dry cleaners. One advantage of spending the whole day driving around town is that I can knock out a couple of personal errands without making another trip later.

I will say it was certainly a Monday. I never sat still in the office long enough to get comfortable. Maybe thirty minutes in front of my computer all day. Yvette also had herself a busy day, with piles more bullshit than I encountered. Poor girl. I suggested a glass of wine.

After work, it randomly began to pour while the sun was still shining. It was short-lived, but it really came down hard. Hard enough to sort of fuck up the areas I filled in with dirt. Oh well, I can fix that. I just need to get a little sod sooner rather than later. The sudden sunshower was a lot of fun, though.

That night I watched the new Guy Ritchie movie In the Grey, starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González. It’s an action thriller, but without the usual humor I’ve come to expect from a Guy Ritchie film. Honestly, I was underwhelmed. The script was kind of lame, and I had hoped for much sharper dialogue, but those moments were few and far between. I was left bored and ready for the film to just end. I suppose they can’t all be winners. Damn shame.

Tuesday was really just a nonstop drive around town. I was like a bee going from flower to flower. It was another one of those days everything blurred together into one long experience. I guess the day went by fast. I don’t even know. I started the day at six in the morning, so by the time I got off at five, I was done.

But not really.

Yvette and I ran to Home Depot to buy a microwave for Teegan’s dorm room. I knew they had them at a good price because earlier that day I had purchased six of them for the campus dorms. I’d been keeping an eye on prices around town, waiting for the right opportunity. I also made a point not to buy every single microwave Home Depot had.

It was another quiet night with Yvette. We’re trying to get used to it, but honestly, it’s not that easy.

Wednesday was more of the same. Just utter madness at work, with me running around trying to appease everyone I could. Like I mentioned earlier, I knew I was going to upset some of these fine folks. Boohoo.

I definitely had some problems with a few of the building technicians. Some people are just a pain in the ass for the sake of being a pain in the ass. They expect materials that are impossible to obtain, yet they insist they need them NOW! Like I can wave a magic wand and make them appear. For some reason, these people don’t seem to grasp that, as a runner, I know where you can find things in town—and where you can’t. When I tell them they’re only getting sixteen of the twenty-four they need, that’s because I already bought every single one available in town. They’re shit out of luck. I don’t enjoy telling people no. Sometimes it’s simply the only honest answer.

They also need to get it through their thick skulls that they’re not the only people on campus who need something. Everyone needs something. Wait in fucking line. Look what happens when you wait until the last minute. Sometimes you don’t have any options left anymore.

Jackasses.

Every fucking year.

After work, I was still working. I went and purchased a little bit of Bermuda grass to lay over one of the runoff ruts that I patched over the weekend. After experiencing that very brief, heavy rain on Monday, I wanted some sod down to prevent all my hard work from washing away. Monday was proof that you just never know what the weather in West Texas is going to do.

I waited until after dinner to lay the sod. Not exactly cool, but cooler than immediately after work. I wasn’t planning on hurting myself. When the job was done, I had a glass of wine, not a beer, to kick back and relax. I was done working for the day.

I will admit, when I woke up on Thursday morning at 5:50, I thought it was Friday. That illusion didn’t last long. Bummer when that didn’t turn out to be the case. I gritted my teeth and began my day settling into all my new routines. Since I was already up, I made the most of the nice, cool, quiet morning. Coffee in one hand, hose in the other, I watered the new sod and enjoyed the calm before another hectic day. I never heard the hawks.

The workday was more of the same, and as you’ve probably guessed, it was fucking busy. The only time I spent at my desk was the hour when everyone else was off to lunch. I like being busy, but damn, it can get a little overwhelming. And for a brief moment on Thursday, it did. We got absolutely slammed for about an hour in the office, with just about everything happening all at once. Phones ringing, vendors waiting, deliveries piling up, people needing shit now—it all hit at once. When I was finally able to step out, I felt like I’d escaped a war zone. Utter chaos.

No rest this week. Immediately after work, I took my car to Discount Tire to see if they could help with a nail in one of the tires. They said it was in the sidewall, which I already knew. Thank God for the warranty. It only cost me a whopping fifteen bucks for a new tire. That’s a real steal.

While I sat and waited for the tire, I found myself wishing the Hooters next door was still open. In the past, it helped pass the time. Not for the reasons some of you gutter-minded folks might think, but for a cold beer and a snack. It was as good a place as any and just happened to be next door. Fuzzy’s Tacos is across the street, but that’s a gamble I’m not willing to take with the traffic.

Once the tire was taken care of, I stopped by the grocery store because we didn’t really have plans for dinner. We already had the shaved steak, so I just grabbed what I needed to make Philly cheesesteaks. That’s what I made for dinner. I slaved over the hot grill while the Texas heat did its best to make me regret it. When dinner was done, I wasn’t. I still had a few tasks to tend to in the yard. I needed to move more dirt to fill in the spaces between the sod. I made the most of the “somewhat” cooler evenings. I still have so much dirt to move, and I haven’t even gotten to the granite yet.

I breathed a sigh of relief, for Friday was finally upon us. Everyone I talked to seemed to be in the same boat. It was the week from hell that simply would not end. I still had to make it through work.

When I arrived, I saw that I was already tied up. My boss was off for the day, but it seemed he’d stayed late looking for things for me to purchase that weren’t showing up on the reorder reports. Oh well. At least it kept me busy and made the day go by quickly.

During my lunch break, I made my way downtown to the bank. I wanted to get something special for the kids—at least I know Teegan will appreciate the gift. The United States of America commemorative 250-year quarter. Only 250,000 in circulation. I got Tee, Lola, Noah, Niles, Alaya, Yvette and myself each a coin. As a coin collector, I thought it would be something fun for everyone, and the little ones would have something to hold onto years from now. I also planned on getting protective cases for each coin to keep them in mint condition. I grabbed a roll specifically for Teegan because he’s an actual coin collector like I am, and an unopened roll could become a sought-after item years down the road.

Personally, I always loved getting coins from my father, so I hope they appreciate the gift.

So that was my week. Nothing but work, yard projects, and trying to stay one step ahead of the bullshit. Not every week has a big story to tell. Sometimes surviving the grind is accomplishment enough.

Oh, and those seven beers that have been calling my name? They survived another week untouched and are still patiently waiting for me to acknowledge them. Let’s keep them waiting. This battery is still fully charged.

Happy Friday!!